Chef Spices Up Senior Center in Carbondale

CARBONDALE – A chef in Carbondale is cooking up five-star quality meals for seniors after traveling the world and studying with some of the best, all to come back home.

Some fresh veggies and meat, topped off with some mashed potatoes. Shepard’s Pie is being served up at the Carbondale Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center by a chef from Newfoundland.

“Came back to the sticks. I call it the sticks, that’s what it is, and fell in love with it all over again. Decided this is where I grew up and this is where I really want to be,” said Fred Duggan of Newfoundland.

Fred Duggan has cooked at restaurants worldwide and studied his craft with some of the best chef’s around – Emeril LaGasse and Mario Batali to name a few.

He says his success cooking in South Beach, Florida and even in Europe, all comes from dedication.

“You know the old saying, you put in enough hard work, you get what you put in out of it,” said Duggan.

Now, Duggan serves up about 345 meals each day in this dining hall for senior residents in Lackawanna County. The chef, who just started this year, has been getting good reviews.

Doris Kline has lived at the Carbondale Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center for about a year and a half and raves about how fresh the ingredients are.

“Well, the food is good. It is. The food is very good,” said Kline.

But, after traveling all over the world, this chef says working here in Carbondale is his toughest job yet.

“To try and appease these people is very difficult because food is the one thing that they really look forward to and it really brightens their day,” said Duggan.

Kline and many other residents say they have also been impressed with cooking demos Duggan has introduced to the Carbondale facility, hoping to add a little spice to the lives of others with his experience.